Kirk Herbstreit names clear favorite between Ohio State and Indiana

Kirk Herbstreit looks to answer the question of who is better between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers, with both Big Ten title contenders still undefeated in November.

Kirk Herbstreit answers the question of who is better between Ohio State and Indiana. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Ohio State and Indiana are two of college football’s four remaining undefeated teams, and it looks like they’re both on pace to meet each other to play for the Big Ten title, but analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks one of these teams stands above the other right now.

Heading into November football, the Buckeyes have an edge over the Hoosiers.

“Ohio State’s skill and this quarterback Julian Sayin, who I didn’t know anything about, every single week he seems to take another step and another step,” Herbstreit said on The Ryen Russillo Show.

“We know that he has NFL receivers everywhere. I’d probably, on a neutral field, but I’d give Ohio State a three or four point advantage over [the Hoosiers].”

Indiana has stayed dominant

A similar question arose last season during Indiana’s initial rise to prominence in Curt Cignetti’s first year as head coach.

But it was quickly answered as the Hoosiers were soundly defeated by the Buckeyes on the road in their only loss in the regular season.

This time around, there were similar concerns for Indiana going on the road against reigning Big Ten champion Oregon, but it proved those doubters wrong with a convincing double-digit victory.

“Indiana’s real. Last year, I wasn’t real high on Indiana. Nothing against them, but I just never really saw it against a great opponent. This year we have,” Herbstreit said.

It wasn’t just that Indiana beat Oregon that appeased its critics, but the way it did so.

“One thing I really admire about Indiana is its consistency at the line of scrimmage,” Herbstreit added. 

“They’re not a gimmicky offense in this day and age of ‘we’re going to run some form of RPO.’ I mean they do, but if you really watch them, they pound you into misery on both sides of the football.”

Comparing the Buckeyes and Hoosiers

Indiana has some other quality wins this season apart from the victory against Oregon, also taking out Illinois and Iowa and currently leads all college football teams in average margin of victory, beating opponents by more than 31 points per game.

Ohio State is not far behind in that category, ranking fourth in FBS, beating opponents by an average of more than 24 points per game.

But the Hoosiers are still getting some criticism for the perceived lack of rigor in their non-conference schedule, while the Buckeyes have a win over then-No. 1 Texas in the season opener.

However you look at it, both of these teams are among the most consistently dominant in college football, and both are seemingly headed for a place in the playoff in the weeks to come.

(Herbstreit)